The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1887-08-18

and their assistants. From Peoria also came
Doctors Martin, Baker, Flagloere and john
son, and from every city whence the
unfortunate excursionjste sAnd come from
their physicians and frieifds hurried onf6
help them. From Peoria had also came del
egatiOns Of the Redmen and the Ancient
Order of United Workmen, number OF both
societies being on the Inflated train, and So
after o'clock in the morning there were
plenty of people to do the work that needed
such prompt attention. In the town hall
was the main hospital, and In it anxious rel
atives and sorrowing friends sat and, fam
ming gently the sufferers faces, queried the
attending surgeons as they bound up the
wounds, and insisted that there must be
hope. Downin
THE DEAD HOUSES,
fathers, husbands, brothers, sisters, wives
and children tearfully inspected each face as
it was uncovered, and sighed as the features
were unknown, or cried out in::anguish when
the well remembered face, sometimes fear
fully mangled but yet recognizable, was un-
covered. The entire capacity of the little
village was taxed, and kind hearted women
drove in from miles to give their gentle min
istrations to the sufferers. No sooner had
the wreck occurred than a scene of robbery
began. baud of mIscreants, heartless
and with only criminal instincts was on
hand, and like the guerrillas who throng
battle field the night after conflict and
filch from the dead the money which they
received for their meager pay, stealing even
the bronze medals, and robbing from the
children of the heroes, and other worthless
emblems of their fathers bravery, SO last
night did the human hyenas plunder the
dead from this terrible accident, and
take even the shoes which covered their feet
Who these wretches are is not known.
Whether they were band of pickpockets
who accompanied the train, or some
robber gang who were lurking in the vicin-
ity cannot be said. The horrible suspicion
exists, and there are many who give it cred
ence that the accident was deliberately
planned case of train wrecking, that the
bridge was set on fire by miscreants who
hoped to seize the opportunity offered, and
the fact that the bridge was SO far consumed
at the time the train came along, and the
added fact that the train was an hour and a
half late, are pointed out as evidence of
careful conspiracy 1t seems hardly possible
that man could be SO lost to all the ordinary
feelings which animates the basest of the
human race, but still men who will rob dead
men, who will
STEAL FROM THE DYING
and will plunder the wounded, held down
by the broken beams of wrecked car.
whose death by fire seemed imminent,
can do most anything which is base,
and that is what these fiends in human form
did They went into the cars when the fire
was burning fiercely underneath, and, when
the poor wretches who were pinned there
begged them "For Gods sake" to help them
out, stripped them of their watches and jew
elry and searched their pockets for money.
When the dead bodies were laid out in
the corn fields these hyenas turned them over
in their search for valuables, and that the
plunder was done by an organized gang was
proven by the fact that this morning out in
the cornfield sixteen purses, all empty, were
found in one heap. 1t was ghastly plumber
ing, and had the plunderers been caught
this afternoon they would surely have been
lynched. There was one incident of the ac-
cident which stood out more horrible than
ali of these horrible scenes. In the second
coach were man, his wife and little child.
His name could not be learned to-day, but
it is said he got on at Peoria When the ac-
cldent occurred the entire family of three
was caught and held dgwn by broken wood
work. Finally when relief came the man
turned to the friendly aid aid feebly said:
"Take out my wife first; I'm afraid the child
is dead" So they carried out the mother,
and as a broken seat was. taken off
her crushed breast the blood which
welled from her lips told how badly
she was hurt They carried the child-a
haired, blue-eyed girl of three-and laid
her in the corn field dead, along side of her
dying mother. Then they went back for the
father and brought him out Both his legs
were broken. but he crawled through the
corn to the side of his wife aud, feeling her
loved features in the darkness. pressed some
brandy to her lips and asked her how she
felt feeble groad was
THE ONLY ANSWER.
and the next instant she died. The man felt
the forms of his dead wife and child and
cried out, @My God! there is nothing more
for me to live for now," and taking a pistol
out of his pocket, pulled the trigger. The
bullet went surely through his brain. and the
three dead bodies of that little family are
now living side by side in Chatsworth waiting
to be identified. About o'clock the re-
porter was driven out to the
wreck The driveway led along the
left Of the railroad and to
the south os the road was
an old-fashioned Usage orange hedge. The
road was very muddy and full of chuck holes.
A stream of humanity was pouring in from
the wreck Some had checks in their hats
and carried valises They were evidently
passengers on the ill-fated train. Country
boys and girls came along swinging hands
and talking in low tones about the terrible
disaster. A photographer dragged his
weary limbs along the track. He
was carrying camera and lot
of negatives The roadbed was almost
level, just little grade running up to the
wreck at raise Of ten or fifteen feet to the
mile. About two or three miles from the
town on o little raise was the debris of the
wreck. The sleeping car @Tunis" was at the
end of the train. 1t was lacked in the air,
supported by the trestles. The front end OF
the car was directly over the place where
the bridge stood. To the right lay q coach
all
BROKEN INTO KINDILNG WOOD,
and directly on the road was piled up what
was left of six or seven coaches turned
bottom side up, and broken beyond recog-
milton. Across the track in front of the pile
of debris was coach lying crosswise, way
up at least ten feet in the air. Beyond were
the two tenders and one engine. One ten
der was to the left Of the track and the
other to the right They were turned
bottom side up and rent assunder. The engine
was scarcely recognizable. On the side
of the cab was the ill-starred number al3. :"
Only big pane of glass marked s13" On
the hedge were hats, shoes, and all manner
of wearing apparel, broken lanterns and
seats from the cars 1t was an awful sight
Hats Of men and women, broken and scared
| with blood, coats reeking with gore, and
ladies' underwear smeared with life-fluid
| It was plain to be seen from the looks of the
baggage that the travellers were well-to-do
people. There was
AN INCIDENT
| In the affair which was not only remarkable
| in its way, but shows how terribly these six
coaches were jammed and mashed together.
When the accident occurred Andy Mooney
Of Peoria and Conductor 6tillwell, who was